Department for Transport

Bus Services: Rural Areas

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask His Majesty's Government whatsteps they are taking to prevent the closure of rural bus routes.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The Government has provided nearly £2 billion of support since March 2020 through emergency and recovery grants to mitigate the impacts of the pandemic on the bus sector. This includes a six-month extension to the Bus Recovery Grant to provide up to £130 million to continue supporting bus services in England outside London until the end of March of this year. The Government is also providing £60 million to help bus operators cap single fares at £2 on services in England outside London from 1 January to 31 March 2023. Over 130 operators covering more than 4,600 routes throughout England are participating in the scheme, including in rural areas, which will help increase patronage on buses and help millions save on their regular travel costs. Our £20 million Rural Mobility Fund (RMF) is supporting 16 innovative, demand-led minibus trials in rural and suburban areas across 15 local authorities in England. These pilots are exploring whether Demand Responsive Transport (DRT) can serve these communities more effectively than traditional public transport solutions alone. We have engaged extensively with rural stakeholders on how new transport modes can benefit rural communities in developing the soon to be published Future of Transport: Rural Strategy.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Carillion: Insolvency

Lord Naseby: To ask His Majesty's Government when they expect to publishthe audit reforms they committed to introduceafter the collapse of the construction firm Carillion five years ago.

Lord Callanan: The Government’s response to consultation on its reform proposals was published on 31 May 2022. This set out that reforms will be delivered by a variety of mechanisms, including changes already made by the regulator and by Ministerial Direction. The Government is committed to legislating when Parliamentary time allows.Restoring trust in audit and corporate governance (pdf, 1271.7KB)

Department of Health and Social Care

Protective Clothing: Storage

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of (1) the amount of PPE purchased for the UK that is being stored in China, and (2) the cost of such storage.

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have for the disposal or continued storage of PPE purchased for the UK and stored in China.

Lord Markham: As of 28 November 2022, the Department had 118 million items of personal protective equipment (PPE) stored in China at an average weekly cost of £260,000. We have no plans to store PPE in China in future and are working to rapidly reduce our existing holding to zero.

NHS: Databases

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Kamall on 2 August 2022 (HL1602), whether they will (1) publish, or (2) place in the Library of the House, copies of the specifications for any dashboards for the purposes listed, in the manner NHS England expect to make available similar specifications for interoperability with the Federated Data Platform, if the Palantir Procurement were to be successful.

Lord Markham: It is expected that all existing dashboards within Foundry will be interoperable. Over the coming months, an assessment will be undertaken to determine which dashboards will be migrated to the new Federated Data Platform and which will be decommissioned. The format of the specifications for these dashboards will be developed as part of the planned transition activities of the programme.

Hospitals: Discharges

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to (1) identify, and (2) address, the needs of patients who are medically fit to be discharged from hospital but are unable to leave because of delays in transfers of care.

Lord Markham: We are making available £500 million to support safe and timely discharges from hospital. We committed a further £200 million to fund short term National Health Service step-down care packages and wrap-around primary and community health services to support patients' recovery. The Government has also provided an extra £50 million in capital funding to expand ambulance hubs and hospital discharge lounges, designed to accommodate patients waiting for short term delays to transfers of care.

Department for Education

Pupils: Disadvantaged

Lord Weir of Ballyholme: To ask His Majesty's Government how much funding they have provided to target educational underachievement in each of the last five years.

Baroness Barran: Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.The great majority of school funding in England is allocated through the National Funding Formula (NFF).The NFF allocates 17.4% of all funding in 2022/23 through additional needs factors to target pupils most likely to fall behind and need extra support. Alongside the NFF, the Pupil Premium provides additional funding to help schools tackle educational underachievement by children from disadvantaged backgrounds. The total funding directed through the NFF’s additional needs factors and through the Pupil Premium over the last five years is shown in the attached table.Within the figures attached, the low prior attainment factor (LPA) in the NFF specifically targets pupils who did not reach the expected standard at the previous stage. The table attached also shows the amount of funding provided to schools in England through the LPA factor in the schools NFF over the last five years.The department is also focusing on recovering from the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic through an ambitious multi-year programme and has made available almost £5 billion for recovery since 2020.   total_NFF_and_pupil_premium_funding (xlsx, 25.8KB)

Imperial College London

Lord Farmer: To ask His Majesty's Government whatassessment they have made of the guidance 'How to be a white ally', published by Imperial College London; and whether they intend to take steps in response to review that institution’s funding.

Baroness Barran: Universities are autonomous institutions and as such have control over what they publish on their own websites.Decisions about funding for individual higher education providers are made by the Office for Students, rather than the department.

Schools: Disease Control

Lord Weir of Ballyholme: To ask His Majesty's Government what contingency planning and preparation they have undertakenin the event of a further pandemic to ensure that schools are able to remain open to educate all pupils.

Baroness Barran: The department’s priority remains for education and care settings to deliver face-to-face, high-quality education and care to all children and young people.The department has updated the Emergency Planning and Response guidance for settings to reflect what has been learned over the past two years, and this sets out how schools should plan for and deal with emergencies, including the possibility of future significant public health incidents. This guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/emergency-planning-and-response-for-education-childcare-and-childrens-social-care-settings.Most infectious diseases in schools can be managed by following the advice in the UK Health Security Agency’s (UKHSA’s) updated health protection in children and young people settings, including education guidance. The department also encourages pupils and staff to follow the UKHSA’s guidance for those who have symptoms of a respiratory infection, including COVID-19, or a positive test result for COVID-19. This guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/health-protection-in-schools-and-other-childcare-facilities.Schools should also have baseline infection prevention and control measures in place that will help to manage the spread of infection. These include ventilation, cleaning, and supporting routine immunisations for those eligible.If a school suspects an incident or outbreak, steps should be taken to review and reinforce existing baseline infection prevention and control measures. The UKHSA guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/people-with-symptoms-of-a-respiratory-infection-including-covid-19.The department will continue to review any emerging evidence, public health guidance and advice to help ensure that schools remain as safe as possible.

Gambling: Education

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answers byBaroness Barran on 9 January (HL4502 and HL4503), what current research informs theirstatutory curriculum for relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) with regard to gambling education.

Baroness Barran: The current statutory guidance for relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) was informed by a stakeholder engagement process in 2017, including a public call for evidence that received over 23,000 responses from parents, young people, schools and experts.The department has worked closely with subject experts Parent Zone and Childnet to develop the Internet Safety and Harms training module, which includes content on gambling and was published in September 2020, alongside modules on all aspects of the RSHE curriculum.The department is also working closely with Gambling with Lives and the Department of Health and Social Care to review the ongoing evidence around gambling to help inform future policy. The research currently being undertaken for the department by IFF Research will test whether schools are teaching RSHE effectively, including about the risks of gambling, and will provide emerging findings to inform decisions regarding the department’s review of the RSHE statutory guidance which is anticipated to start this year.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Myanmar: Fuels

Lord Hain: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to investigate British companies involved in supplying aviation fuel to the armed forces of the government of Myanmar; and what sanctions, if any, they are considering for such companies.

Lord Hain: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps, if any, they are taking to prevent British companies from providing insurance services to vessels delivering aviation fuel to the government of Myanmar.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: On 28 February 2022, the UK updated its Overseas Business Risk Guidance https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/overseas-business-risk-myanmar-burma/overseas-business-risk-myanmar-burma to make it clear UK businesses should conduct thorough supply chain due diligence to ensure that commodities, such as aviation fuel do not reach the Myanmar military. Amnesty International's thorough report on the aviation fuel supply chain in Myanmar indicates that no British companies are involved in supplying aviation fuel to the armed forces. The UK has been clear that we oppose the provision of jet fuel, arms, military equipment, and dual use items to Myanmar which are used to facilitate human rights violations. We cannot speculate on future sanctions designations but we are looking at a range of further targets and other measures.

Pakistan: Religious Freedom

Baroness Deech: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to encourage the government of Pakistan (1) to protect the Jewish community in that country, and (2) to support freedom of worship and belief.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Protecting freedom of religion or belief for minority communities is central to the UK Government's human rights engagement in Pakistan. We regularly raise the treatment of minority communities at a senior level with the Government of Pakistan. On 30 January, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister of State for South Asia and Minister responsible for Human Rights, discussed the need to protect religious minorities with Pakistan's Minister for Human Rights, Mian Riaz Hussain Pirzada. Lord Ahmad also discussed the importance of promoting respect for all religions during his meeting with Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on 14 December 2022.

Russia: Ukraine

Lord Hylton: To ask His Majesty's Government what response they have had, if any, to their request of the government of Russia for full access by the International Committee of the Red Cross to (1) civilian detainees, and (2) prisoners of war, held in Ukraine and Russia; and if none, whether they will publicise this matter.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK routinely calls for full compliance with International Humanitarian Law, including granting humanitarian access to prisoners of war and civilian detainees. As set out in the Third Geneva Convention, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has the mandate to go wherever prisoners of war and civilian detainees are held and monitor their conditions of detention, their treatment, and share news with their families. ICRC has an ongoing confidential dialogue with Russia and Ukraine on this matter.

Ukraine: Ambulance Services

The Earl of Dundee: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take, together with other countries, to increase the amount of armoured ambulances available to Ukraine, given the current danger faced by hospitals in that country.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: In response to the Government of Ukraine's requests for assistance, the UK has provided 96 non-armoured ambulances (20 NHS and 76 new). The ambulances selected are in line with the priorities and specifications set out by Ukraine's Ministry of Health in their dialogue with officials in the FCDO.

Jimmy Lai

Baroness Cox: To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have made to (1) the government of China, and (2) the government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, about Jimmy Lai, including (a) securing consular access, (b) ensuring his right to a defence counsel of his choice, (c) ensuring he receives a fair trial, and (c) securing his release on bail while awaiting trial.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: We are actively monitoring the targeting of pro-democracy figures, journalists and publishers in Hong Kong, and are following these cases, including Mr Lai's carefully.Accredited diplomats at our Consulate-General in Hong Kong will continue to attend Mr Lai's court proceedings. We have requested consular access to Mr Lai. Mr Lai was sentenced to 5 years and 9 months for a charge of fraud on 10 December and is not currently eligible for bail.Foreign Lawyers are permitted to practice in Hong Kong, provided they complete the relevant registration and entrance requirements. We are watching closely how the Chief Executive and Hong Kong authorities act to implement the 30 December interpretation of the National Security Law. As we have said, the National Security Law is being used to curtail freedoms, punish dissent and shrink the space for opposition, and we consider it to represent a clear and serious breach of the Sino-British Joint Declaration.

Ukraine: Paramedical Staff

The Earl of Dundee: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take, together with other countries, to provide more paramedics to Ukraine, given the current short supply in that country.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK has provided £300,000 to the British NGO UK-Med, who specialise in the provision of medical services and training. As a result of our support, UK-Med has trained a total of 1363 participants (civilian, pre-hospital, clinical and non-clinical staff and surgeons) across Ukraine in advanced trauma and psychological first aid. The UK has also provided 11 million medical items to assist the health services of Ukraine, including wound care packs and medicine for pain management. We coordinate our support in regular dialogue with other countries and the UN.

Ukraine: Armed Conflict

The Earl of Dundee: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take, together with other countries, to assist Ukrainian (1) civilians, and (2) soldiers, suffering from trauma and stress.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: We are working with the Ukrainian Armed Forces and our international partners and allies to best understand how we can support Ukraine's needs as part of international efforts. Mental health experts from the Ministry of Defence (MOD) have offered advice and support to Ukrainian colleagues on ways to further develop their mental health services.To support civilians suffering from trauma and stress, the UK has funded the British NGO UK-Med (£300,000) to train 1363 first responders in advanced trauma and psychological first aid. Our funding to UNICEF (£15 million) is supporting them to provide specialist trauma and gender-based violence services.

Nagorno Karabakh: Humanitarian Aid

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking, if any, to provide humanitarian support, including the provision of (1) food, and (2) medical supplies, to the Armenian population living in the city of Stepanakert.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK Government has been clear that the closure of the Lachin corridor risks severe humanitarian consequences, particularly during winter. Officials are in contact with humanitarian agencies, including the ICRC most recently on 18 January, about their assessment of the impact of the closure and the START FUND, to which the UK is a significant donor, has allocated £350,000 to support those affected by the closure of the Lachin Corridor.

Transcaucasus: Roads

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to ask the government of Azerbaijan to lift the blockade in the Lachin Corridor in the interests of regional security in the South Caucasus; and what assessment they have made of the steps that could be taken to prevent an increase in conflict in the Nagorno-Karabakh region as a result of the blockade.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: On 30 January, the Minister for Europe, Leo Docherty MP, met with the Azerbaijan ambassador to highlight the importance of re-opening the Lachin corridor. Ambassadors in the region and other senior UK officials have reinforced this message with key interlocutors including representatives of the Azerbaijani Government. The United Kingdom also called for the corridor to be re-opened in interventions at the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe on 15 December and at the UN Security Council on 20 December. This is consistent with our long-standing support for internationally facilitated negotiations as the most effective way to facilitate a sustainable and peaceful settlement to the conflict.

Development Aid

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government what developmentprogrammes they are considering as part of their Official Development Assistance spending.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The FCDO's Official Development Assistance spending will be focused according to the priorities set out in the International Development Strategy, while closely taking into account the needs of our partner countries. Individual programme funding decisions will be made by our experts on the ground, guided by our approach to prioritisation.We will provide an update on Official Development Assistance allocations in due course.

China: Belt and Road Initiative

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Somalia regarding their involvement in China's Belt and Road initiative.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: China is a significant partner for many countries, including through the Belt and Road Initiative. The Somali Government pursues its international trading, development and political relations as it chooses. The UK's focus is on working closely with the Somali Government to support its ambitious programme for a more stable and peaceful Somalia. This includes the provision of humanitarian relief and crucial support for the fight against Al-Shabaab.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Crofting: Environmental Land Management Schemes

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government what stepsthey are taking to support crofters to increase their participation in agri-environmental climate funding schemes.

Lord Benyon: Agriculture is a devolved issue which is the responsibility of the Scottish Government.

Furs

Baroness Redfern: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have (1) to publish an analysis of the responses to their Call for Evidence on the Fur Market in Great Britain, and (2) to ban the import and sale of fur in Great Britain.

Lord Benyon: We are carefully reviewing the evidence gathered both from our Call for Evidence and wider engagement with the fur trade and stakeholders, and a summary of responses will be published in due course.We will use the evidence gathered to inform any future action on the fur trade in Great Britain, in line with HM Government’s commitment to improving animal welfare standards.

River Tees: Pyridine

Baroness Armstrong of Hill Top: To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made in their investigation into pyridine in the River Tees.

Lord Benyon: Defra is not progressing any further investigative work into the presence of pyridine in the River Tees at this time. We are however finalising the development and validation of a detection method to reliably quantify the amounts of pyridine in crab tissues. Once completed, we will use this test to assess the levels of pyridine in environmental crab tissues associated with the impacted and non-impacted areas, to better understand the significance of pyridine in crustacea, including the potential for its endogenous production post-mortem.The Government Chief Scientific Adviser has conveyed an independent external expert panel to review all the scientific evidence relating to this issue and report published on Friday 20 JanuaryDefra scientists continue to engage with the wider academic community with regard to ongoing research and development work into the ecological status of the Tees and the wider North Sea.

Home Office

Metropolitan Police: Violent and Sex Offender Register

Baroness Thornton: To ask His Majesty's Government how many Metropolitan Police (1) officers, and (2) staff,are currently on the sex offenders register, broken down by rank.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom: The Home Office does not collect data on the number of police officers or staff who are registered sex offenders The statutory Vetting Code of Practice 2017 stipulates that all applications for a position of police officer or member of police staff must be rejected, where the applicant is a registered sex offender The Government has asked the College of Policing to strengthen the statutory code of practice for vetting, making the obligations all forces must legally follow stricter and clearer The Home Secretary has also now launched a review into the process of police officer dismissals, ensuring that the system is fair and effective at removing those officers who are not fit to serve their communities. The Terms of Reference for this review have now been published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/police-officer-dismissals-review-terms-of-reference.

Fires: Sky Lanterns

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Sharpe of Epsom on 13 December 2022 (HL3856), whether they can provide anitemised table from the Fire and Rescue Services (FRSs) that details how many incidents where sky lanterns have been confirmed as the source of a fire.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom: Data collected through the Fire and Rescue Service Incident Recording System (IRS) does not include data on whether fire incidents attended were caused by or involved sky lanterns.The Home Office collects data on incidents attended by Fire and Rescue Services (FRSs), with this data including the cause of the fire and the source of ignition. However, the answer categories for cause of fire and source of ignition do not specifically provide sky lanterns as an option. This data is published in a variety of publications, available at Gov.UK.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Construction: Standards

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improvestandards within the construction industry.

Baroness Scott of Bybrook: A programme of work to improve the competence of the construction sector and to strengthen guidance in building safety is ongoing.The Building Safety Act 2022 establishes the new Building Safety Regulator which will enforce a stringent new regulatory regime for high-rise residential and other in scope buildings, oversee the safety and standard of all buildings, and facilitate improvement in the competence of industry and building inspectors. We will use powers within the Act to develop regulations that place duties on those who procure, plan, manage and undertake building work in all buildings. Anyone undertaking design work or building work will need to ensure that they, and those they appoint, have the skills or competence for the work they are engaged to undertake.

Levelling Up Fund: Northern Ireland

Lord Hay of Ballyore: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of theinclusion of Northern Ireland infrastructure projects in the Levelling Up Fund.

Baroness Scott of Bybrook: I refer the noble Lord to the answer given by my Hon Friend, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Levelling Up (Dehenna Davison) to Question UIN 129836 on 26 January 2023. UIN 129836 (pdf, 95.1KB)

Cabinet Office

Public Buildings: CCTV

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask His Majesty's Government what is their timetable for the removal of Hikvision cameras from all buildings in public ownership in the UK.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: On 24 November 2022, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster laid a Written Ministerial Statement (WMS) instructing departments to cease deployment of surveillance equipment on sensitive sites on the government estate, where such equipment is produced by companies subject to the National Intelligence Law of the People’s Republic of China. Departments have been advised to consider whether there are sites outside the definition of sensitive sites to which they would wish to extend the same risk mitigation.Wider public bodies generally operate with some independence from central government and are free to make their own choices around purchasing and contracting. We encourage all organisations to follow NCSC supply chain security guidance when selecting a technology supplier. This guidance clearly sets the security standards that suppliers should meet and the considerations that organisations should be making during the procurement process.Specific details regarding the use of security systems by government departments are withheld on national security grounds. This has been the case under successive administrations. Government keeps the security of our personnel, information, assets, and estate under constant review.

Department for International Trade

Trade Agreements: India

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they are making in regard toa free trade agreement with India.

Lord Johnson of Lainston: On 12-13 December 2022 the Secretary of State for International Trade visited India to meet the Minister for Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, and to initiate the sixth round of the UK-India Free Trade Agreement negotiations. A written ministerial statement on the latest negotiation round can be found here.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Leisure and Swimming Pools: Rural Areas

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask His Majesty's Government whatsteps they are taking to support the provision of (1) swimming pools, and (2) leisure centres, in rural areas.

Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay: HM Government recognises the importance of ensuring public access to swimming pools across the country, including in rural areas. Swimming is a great way for people of all ages to stay fit and healthy. The responsibility for providing this access lies with local authorities, and the Government continues to encourage them to support swimming facilities.We appreciate the impact that rising energy prices are having on organisations of all sizes, including on operators of swimming pools. That is why we announced the £18 billion Energy Bill Relief Scheme in September last year. The scheme was always time-limited, and has now been succeeded by the Energy Bills Discount Scheme. Under the new scheme, swimming pools will continue to receive discounts on their gas and electricity bills during the 12-month period from April 2023 to March 2024.Officials in my Department are in regular contact with representatives from the sector to assess the impact of rising energy costs, including monitoring how operators and local authorities are responding to them.Sport England has invested £12,775,274 of public money in swimming and diving projects since April 2019, which includes £9,360,002 to Swim England. This is in addition to the Government’s £100 million National Leisure Recovery Fund, which supported the reopening of local authority swimming pools throughout the country after the pandemic.